Paula Sandoval, the owner of Tamales by La Casita, opened the restaurant Sunday for a Democratic rally. With her is employee Paul Saragosa, her newphew, and Saragosa’s son, Xavier, 7. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

The late Paul Sandoval loved politics and could be counted on to host a variety of events at his restaurant, whether for his close friend Ken Salazar or Sen. Barack Obama’s Colorado team in 2008.

Rowdy Democrats, many wearing Broncos jerseys, jammed the north Denver restaurant to listen a slew of speakers tout the re-election bid of Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and his lieutenant governor, Joe Garcia, who recounted being tapped as the running mate.

“I wondered why he wanted me. I had no political experience. I didn’t have a lot of rich friends,” he said. “It finally occurred to me that if you want to run statewide and you had a foreign-sounding name like Hickenlooper he needed an all-American name like Garcia.”

A recent University of Colorado reception to raise money for a scholarship in honor of the late Paul Sandoval included Marcy and Bruce Benson of CU; the widow, Paula Sandovall; Gov. John Hickenlooper; and Dan Theodorescu, director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center. (Patrick Campbell, University of Colorado)

Friends and family of the late Paul Sandoval who gathered to raise money for a scholarship in his name got a big laugh when Gov. John Hickenlooper described their encounter.

It was 2003 and Hickenlooper, a political neophyte and a brewpub pioneer, had just breezed his way into the runoff election for Denver mayor and stopped by Sandoval’s tamale shop. Hickenlooper described the shock of seeing the “crap little office in the back of La Casita.”

“I kept thinking, ‘This is the nexus of Denver politics? This is where it happens? This is where careers and campaigns have been planned and realized?’ ” Hickenlooper said, to whoops and cheers.

But Hickenlooper said he later realized how appropriate it was that the man “who opened the doors of opportunity for the next generation,” the king of the “artful compromise,” didn’t operate out of a fancy office.

[media-credit name=”Provided by Susan Reimann” align=”alignnone” width=”495″][/media-credit] Gov. Dick Lamm and state Sen. Paul Sandoval, two Denver Democrats, were first elected to office in 1974.

The spirit of the late Paul Sandoval, a former state senator and political kingpin who influenced Colorado politics from the back of his tamale shop, seemed to be everywhere at the Democrats’ annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner Saturday.

Paula and Paul Sandoval hosted a party for Barack Obama supporters and staff at their restaurant in 2008.

I had worked in the yard and needed a shower but about 5 p.m. Sunday I grabbed the keys and drove over to politico Paul Sandoval’s house to say what I feared would be my final good-bye.

The last couple of times I knocked on their door in northwest Denver there had been no answer. I figured Paula probably was at their restaurant and I knew Paul was in no shape to answer the door.

I wasn’t prepared for what I saw Sunday: Paul, in the hospital bed in the living room, was nothing but skin and bones. I could count each rib like a Halloween costume. And yet the face, the face had never been more beautiful. The hook nose, so unlike my pug, which I’ve always admired on men and women, was even more pronounced. His skin seemed to glow.

David Misner and his partner, Sen. Pat Steadman, lean in for a kiss at the Democrats' annual Jefferson Jackson Day dinner in downtown Denver Saturday. The couple will celebrate their 11th anniversary on Tuesday, Valentine's Day.

UPDATE:Other Democrats have offered their thoughts.

Images from the Colorado Democrats’ annual Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner in downtown Denver on Saturday, as offered up by some of the participants:

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.